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Stonebones
Stonebones are one of the sub-types of the Ogre seeming. These changelings resemble the rocky giants of folklore, Nordic trolls, Native American mountain spirits and the like. Theirs is the blessing of Obdurate Skin. Overview Strong as a mountain, rugged as a cliff face, Stonebones not only adapted to their environment, they absorbed a portion of it. They are generally one of the “wilder” Ogre kiths, favoring natural terrain as their homes if they can get it. Some Stonebones find they have as much in common with Elementals as with other Ogres, even if Stonebones’ connections to the elements are a touch weaker. Stonebones might not be creatures of raw natural rock, though. Some were kept in surreally modern domains, and became things of concrete and asphalt rather than granite and basalt. A Stonebones is usually somewhat distinct from his Ogre fellows. His flesh isn’t entirely fleshy; his skin might have a pumice-like texture, and his muscles are angular and dense to the touch. Some have bones of literal stone that break through their skin here and there like rocks in a field. Others have patches of lichen scattered across their skin like acne and hair that’s as much moss as anything else. Although Stonebones might be as grotesque as any Ogre, they can also demonstrate a certain rough-cut attractiveness, like a tribal sculpture brought to life. Durance Stonebones are often the products of the harshest terrain in Faerie. They bear their Keepers’ litters over steep, jagged mountains lashed by rain and lightning where nothing can grow. Stonebones are charged with keeping the fires burning in stark stone caves where there’s little to eat save strange, warmish rocks that bleed when you bite into them. They threw coals and living sacrifices into the mouths of volcanoes to keep the fires burning. Their Keepers may be monsters of living stone themselves, sometimes even sections of living rock. The Stonebones kept in a cave may actually have been inside her Keeper’s maw or womb. A Stonebones’s durance is sometimes very similar to that of an Elemental, particularly an Earthbones (see p. 75). The differences lie in two places. First, the Stonebones typically has a far more ogrish Keeper, and some measure of his vicious strength is imparted into the Stonebones. Second, the process of becoming imbued with earth or stone doesn’t go quite as far. Folklore The fusion of an ogre or giant to the land that surrounds it is a common principle. In many cases, a particular stony-toothed ogre is associated with a specific location. He may be a guardian of a particular cliff, or credited with devouring the earth from a nearby canyon, or the alleged cause of avalanches on a local mountain. Stone giants are common among various Native American myths, from the Yahgans of Tierra del Fuego to the Nunhyunuwi spoken of by the Cherokee. They are sometimes vicious and cruel, sometimes sympathetic. Some of the giants of Norse myth are associated with stone, such as the stonemason who attempted to win Freya as a wife in exchange for building a massive stone wall around Asgard. Frailties Vulnerable on the soles of the feet, repelled by open flame, cannot use wood-handled tools, must sleep after large meals, aversion to crow feathers, cannot refuse a stranger hospitality. References *Changeling: The Lost (Rulebook), p. 118 *Winter Masques, p. 88-89 Category:Ogre (CTL) Category:Kith (CTL)